TIMELOSS

This group intrigued me from the moment I heard them. They have a very relaxed, very textural sound that is sometimes extremely entrancing. Timeloss, the group's 2002 debut is full of rich textures and instrumentation. There are a wide range of sounds and styles here. Surely an innovative and exciting album.

The music is well written and executed. Nothing to complain about there. The vocals, are easy to listen to, and fit the music, but really don't stand out. Petronella isn't an astounding vocalist; she doesn't have much of a range, nor is she much of a captivator. A more capable vocalist would have enhanced the experience, but not too much is taken away because of who they do have.

A quick song-by-song:

"Sensor" gets the album going with a nice laid back groove (almost sounds like stereotypical elevator music), and then moves on into an energetic song, still with a nice groove. Paatos effectively use a lot of different instruments. here you'll hear some brief auxiliary percussion and an array of keyboards. You'll get an idea with this song, but the range expands as the album progresses. Some of the keyboard sounds/parts here remind me of that silly move Napoleon Dynamite. Don't let that be a misnomer. This is not goofy and/or incoherent like the movie.

The next track, "Hypnotique," starts of mellow and towards the end gets heavy (relatively speaking) and intense. Here you will notice the first implementation of woodwinds on the album. A nice touch it is.

"Téa" is the albums shortest track, but it is the most traversing of the songs. Going back and forth from light & easy to heavy & intense. It is also (to my knowledge) in their native language.

"They Are Beautiful" bears the second and last use of woodwinds. This one is constantly soft. Again, a very nice piece.

"Quits" ends the album in a very surprising fashion. This is pretty much a progressive trip-hop song. Nearly the entire [12-minute] song revolves around this one electronic drum beat. That may put you off, but if you give it a chance, it will put you in a deep trance. Cool bass-lines, some brass instruments noodling around, and rich keys make this trance possible. It really is a good song, considering the repetition.

In short, it's a very solid debut. Innovative, rich and entrancing.